Paving work is underway on Williams Gap Road in western Loudoun. In 1748, a 16-year-old George Washington passed through Williams Gap returning from surveying Lord Fairfax’s properties in the Shenandoah Valley.
[Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now]

Loudoun Supervisors Set Six Year Road Priorities

Loudoun County supervisors have signed off on two six-year road work plans this month—one for major projects with the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, and one for secondary roads with the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The board signed a standard agreement with the NVTA that unlocks $73.9 million for three projects: Rt. 9 traffic calming measures in Hillsboro, widening Dulles West Boulevard between Loudoun County Parkway and Northstar Boulevard, and realigning Watson Road and Reservoir Road to meet at one intersection on Evergreen Mills Road. The county will spend $21.6 million on those projects.

Those projects are the first three among eight road projects for which the county won funding from the authority. In total, the county is in line for almost $305 million from the authority between now and 2023. This was the authority’s first six-year plan, allowing it to spread funding across several years for larger projects that might not fit into one fiscal year. The plan took a hit this spring when the General Assembly stripped some funding from the authority to send to Metrorail.

The second agreement, with the VDOT, lays out priorities for work on some of Loudoun’s secondary roads. The state will spend $84.8 million on 10 projects in Loudoun, many of those paving rural roads.

Those projects include paving Greggsville Road between Jeb Stuart Road and Telegraph Springs Road; paving 1.7 miles of Cochran Mill Road east of Farmwell Road; and paving Williams Gap Road, Nixon Road, Lakefield Road, and Ticonderoga Road. They also include widening Belmont Ridge Road to four lanes between Hay Road and Gloucester Parkway; realigning and widening Claiborne Parkway between Ryan Road and Croson Lane; constructing a turn lane on Rt. 7 at Williams Gap Road; and moving and improving the intersection of Evergreen Mills Road and The Woods Road.

Some of those projects are already underway.

Despite the number of rural rustic roads set for paving, supervisors said they prefer to pave less, and said they hear from more Loudouners asking not to pave rural roads than the reverse.

“I actually have worked harder to not pave roads that some other folks want paved, than I have to pave any roads,” said Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge).

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